Thursday, June 23, 2005

Births, marriages and deaths database to be moved to India

According to this article, from today's Guardian, the database of all births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales since 1837 is being moved to India. This is a disgrace, these records should stay in this country, and as the article states, the move will no doubt see inaccuarcies in translations, and maybe see people's personal data at risk:

The news provoked a furious reaction from trade unions and MPs who have tabled a motion objecting to the deal, which has already been criticised by two Parliamentary committees.
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said yesterday: "Not only is this highly irregular, but it is outrageous that a government will so readily dismiss the concerns of both houses of parliament in handing over the records of 250 million people to a third party halfway across the globe .
"Ministers need to intervene, stopping ONS playing fast and loose with such valuable and sensitive information, and ensure that the population's personal information remains in the hands of the public sector."

Indeed, private companies should never have access to these huge databases of information, which contain personal details on all of us in England and Wales.
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